


Our Love in a Photograph

by meggiewrites



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Boys In Love, Established Relationship, Fluff, Inspired by Real Events, M/M, Married Neuller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 09:04:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21159095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meggiewrites/pseuds/meggiewrites
Summary: Maybe it could have been a picture like any other. But then, the photographer has managed to capture a moment that’s not often right there for people’s eyes to see.





	Our Love in a Photograph

**Author's Note:**

> [I blame Thomas for all of this.](https://twitter.com/esmuellert_/status/1187021431231668225) I don't think my heart has stopped beating faster yet. We've been blessed, and I couldn't help myself and had to write something for it, I just had to – and yes, I'm TRULY writing my boys again now, and I'm so fucking happy I got inspiration from Herr Müller himself :'D As always, thanks for my best friend for listening to me ramble and prompting me to use one special thing again <3
> 
> Title inspired by Ed Sheeran's Photograph, which of course it is – hope you enjoy!

After coming back from a tiring Champions League away game, Manu finds there’s nothing better than to just change into your favourite pair of sweatpants, flop down on the couch and kick up your feet, planning to do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. He’s not a lazy person per se, far from it, but sometimes, just indulging in his exhaustion from the game as well as a tiring journey, letting his head loll on the armrest as Momo jumps up to him as well, nuzzling her snout against his side, is absolutely perfect.

His husband evidently doesn’t share that opinion.

Of course, Manu knows that Thomas will probably join him on the couch sooner rather than later, but for now, Manu watches him run around like a headless chicken, unpacking his suitcase … or doing whatever Thomas _ calls _ unpacking his suitcase.

In Manu’s humble opinion, it’s more of a ‘randomly spreading its contents all over their house, especially in places where they clearly do not belong’ – but he’s known Thommy long enough, has been _ living _ with him long enough to know that pointing that out won’t have any effect at all, except mirthfully raised eyebrows and maybe, if Manu’s husband is feeling particularly silly that day, maybe even a poked out tongue. And thus, Manu just settles for absent-mindedly scratching Momo’s head as he fumbles for his phone in his pocket, starting to scroll through twitter.

He likes a few of the pictures Bayern have posted over the past few hours ever since touchdown, chuckles at a few fan comments, rolls his eyes at another few, scrolls–

Then, abruptly, the movement of his thumb comes to a halt.

The username that his eyes zoom in on is a familiar one, of course, the one he’s most familiar with apart from his own, but it’s the picture that catches his eyes.

Thomas has, apparently, just before, as Manu was settling down and he was ready to but hasn’t yet started unleashing chaos on their home, posted a picture of them. 

Now, this is not a singular occurrence, of course not. As teammates, it’s only appropriate and also inevitable that they sometimes appear in each other’s posts (even if, Manu admits, they are both quite fond of maybe doing it more than necessary, like an inside joke between them, a quiet acknowledgement to how much they mean to each other, both on and off the pitch), but this …

It shows the two of them, on the escalator at the airport. Manu doesn’t remember if there had been any photographers present in that moment, he doesn’t think so, so a member of their own team must have snapped it.

Maybe it could have been a picture like any other. But then, the photographer has managed to capture a moment that’s not often right there for people’s eyes to see. The picture immortalizes the look in both Manu’s own and Thomas’ eyes, warm and speaking of fondness, sparkling with kindness. Managed to capture the crinkles by Manu’s eyes that he only knows to appear when he’s genuinely, truly happy and content, with an expression to match. Manages to depict Thomas’ smile that is not the slanted grin he so often showcases as a part of the persona the public and the media expect him to be, but one more awkward, more gentle, almost tender. A smile that’s both directed at and reserved only for him, Manu knows, one that makes his heart flutter even now, after over three years of them being in a relationship.

He hasn’t even realized that he’s started thumbing over the picture, softly, caressing this beloved face, features he knows so well that he can see them in front of his closed eyes, features that he could recognize only by tracing them with his fingertips. His heart is beating fast, and his stomach feels impossibly warm, as if he had swallowed a clear summer night, one of those when it feels like you’re about to burst from everything you feel, and every single feeling is a good one.

Momo whines next to him, clearly bored, but Manu just can’t tear his eyes away.

It’s only after blinking at the picture for a few more minutes, speechless, breathless, absolutely captivated by this depiction of the love him and his vice-captain have for each other, that he starts to take in everything else about the post. The caption being the first thing, of course. It’s casual, curt, but Manu still stops short, his breath hitches–

“Thomas?” he asks, not loudly, not really expecting an answer, so he almost startles when his husband seemingly suddenly appears next to the couch, leaning down on it, a smile creeping onto his lips when he notices what Manu is so fixated on.

“Ah, you saw it.” He toes out of his house shoes then, clambering over the back of the couch, wedging himself between it and Manu. “Scoot over!”

Manu does no such thing. Instead, he sits up, allowing Thomas to take place behind him, an awkward tumble of limbs, repositioning himself until Manu is sitting between his legs. Finally, Thomas scoots closer and wraps his arms around Manu’s shoulders, pulling him back against his chest, a feeling that the older will never quite be able to get used to, to the way it makes him feel at peace and at home immediately.

Once they’ve settled down, Manu twists his head slightly, raising his eyebrows at where Thomas is now smiling at Manu’s phone that’s still showcasing the post and the picture of them.

“I can’t believe you actually posted that”, he says, and grins a bit at the disbelief laced into his own voice – he’s known Thomas long enough so that he should be aware that the lanky forward who he now calls the love of his life always has a knack for doing the unexpected.

Thomas chuckles. “Couldn’t help myself. Kathleen took it, and then forwarded it to me earlier, and well, I just … I mean look at us.”

Manu does. In the last minute that he hasn’t looked at it, the photograph has lost none of its magic.

“That’s us,” Thomas says. “Not Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller, Bayern players, captain and vice-captain – _ us. _ Just Thommy and Manu. It’s the version of myself I love best, and the person I love most in this world. Why would I not want to share it?”

Because, Manu thinks, in a way, it’s dangerous to have this out in the world. Because what if people realize? What if someone notices? – but no. He shakes his head, stubbornly, banishing those thoughts back to the dark corner where they came from.

Because this picture is a thing of beauty, even if its true meaning might be hidden to everyone but them and their small circle of initiates. Because even if people don’t know – what could ever be wrong with spreading love in the world, no matter which kind of love that might be?

Manu smiles up at Thomas, feeling his lips tugging wide, closing his eyes slowly when what he gets in return is a hand at the back of his head, bringing him closer until their lips meet; innocently in an almost shy, close-mouthed kiss that feels like their love is as fresh as it had been back in 2016 and they were just barely boyfriends.

Still, there’s a question still burning in the back of his mind, so he shuffles around until he’s turned onto his stomach, placing his chin on Thomas’ chest, gazing up at him.

“Es müllert?”

Of course, Thomas knows exactly what he’s implying. He grins. His hand still hasn’t left Manu’s hair, and Manu feels his spine tingling at the sensation just as much as it makes him feel content, and a little bit sleepy.

“Yeah. After all, it describes _ both _ of us just perfectly now, doesn’t it?”

And it does. It might be just Thomas' usual tagline, but now it’s also a cheeky hint to their marriage, to something that’s just theirs, and Manu can’t help but grin, widely, as he wraps his arms tight, then tighter around his husband’s torso, clinging to him like an over-sized koala, closing his eyes as he finally succumbs to the tiredness that has been sleeping in his bones ever since they came home.

The last thing he hears is Thomas’ voice as he whispers into his hair.

“I love you, Nunu.”

And that’s everything Manu could have ever wished for.

**Author's Note:**

> I write FICTION about real people. None of this is intended to harm them or their reputation in any way. Please leave kudos and maybe a comment if you liked it! | [tumblr](http://manuelmueller.tumblr.com/)


End file.
